Somatosensory System MBBS1 GBE
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Questions and Answers

What are the five traditional senses through which the brain senses the surrounding environment?

  • hearing, vision, taste, smell, and somatosensation
  • hearing, vision, taste, smell, and balance
  • hearing, vision, touch, smell, and taste (correct)
  • hearing, vision, taste, smell, and proprioception
  • What is the process by which somatosensory signals are converted into neural signals?

  • Modulation
  • Transduction (correct)
  • Perception
  • Transmission
  • What is the term for the area of the body that is sensitive to a particular sensory receptor?

  • Sensory modality
  • Receptor specificity
  • Receptor sensitivity
  • Receptive field (correct)
  • What are the four attributes of sensory stimuli?

    <p>Modality, intensity, duration, and location</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the name of the system that subserves the submodality of somatic sensation related to proprioception?

    <p>Dorsal Column-Medial Lemniscus system</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the ability of the brain to reorganize and adapt to changes in the body or environment?

    <p>Neuroplasticity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the degree to which a sensory receptor responds to a particular stimulus?

    <p>Receptor sensitivity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term for the ability of a sensory receptor to respond to a specific type of stimulus?

    <p>Receptor specificity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of sensory receptors?

    <p>To transduce a particular type of stimulus energy into electrical signals</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of proprioceptors in the joint?

    <p>To report on limb position</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of muscle spindles?

    <p>To lie in parallel with main muscle fibers and respond to small changes in length</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How many types of mechanoreceptors are involved in touch?

    <p>4</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of joint capsule receptors?

    <p>To transduce tension in the joint capsule</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What determines the receptive field size of mechanoreceptors?

    <p>All of the above</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of primary sensory neurons?

    <p>To transduce a particular type of stimulus energy into electrical signals</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of afferent signals from muscle spindles and efferent motor neurons?

    <p>To perceive angle and limb position</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of receptors are sensitive to changes in muscle tension?

    <p>Muscle receptors and Golgi Tendon Organs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of axons are most cold-sensitive fibres in humans?

    <p>Small myelinated Aδ axons</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What determines the receptor specificity of Nociceptors?

    <p>The presence of different transduction molecules</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is information on intensity and duration of stimuli conveyed to sensory neurons?

    <p>By changes in the firing rates of sensory neurons</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main function of Thermoreceptors?

    <p>To detect temperature changes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the characteristic of 'hot' and 'cold' signals in thermoreception?

    <p>They are signalled by different neuronal populations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How many main modalities of Nociceptors are there?

    <p>4</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What determines the threshold of activation of receptors?

    <p>The presence of different transduction molecules</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of the dorsal columns tracts and the anterolateral system?

    <p>To convey sensory information from the body to consciousness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of a maladaptive plasticity that can occur as a consequence of injury?

    <p>Phantom limb pain following Peripheral Nerve Injury</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the assessment of sensory cortical representation asymmetries in violin players?

    <p>Sensory evoked potential (SEP) mapping</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the definition of the receptive field of a sensory neuron?

    <p>The spatial domain where stimulation excites or inhibits the neuron</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary goal of therapies targeting maladaptive plasticity?

    <p>To exploit plasticity for functional recovery</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between the two-point perceptual thresholds of different parts of the body and the diameters of the receptive fields of receptors?

    <p>They match each other</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the consequence of excessive synchronicity of stimuli in the context of learning?

    <p>Pathologies such as focal hand dystonia</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of the dorsal columns/medial lemniscal system?

    <p>Conveying mechanosensory information from the limbs and trunk to the cortex</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the process by which the brain constructs a neural representation of external objects and our own bodies?

    <p>Somatotopic representation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the location where the contralateral anterolateral system crosses the midline in the spinal cord?

    <p>In the spinal cord</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the clinical relevance of somatosensory cortex plasticity?

    <p>It underlies pain following nerve injury and can be targeted by therapies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of information is transmitted by the contralateral anterolateral system?

    <p>Itch, temperature, and visceral information</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary difference between how information is processed in the dorsal columns tracts and the anterolateral system versus how it is processed in other neural pathways?

    <p>Information is processed in parallel in other pathways</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of a dermatome?

    <p>Innervating the area of skin and deeper tissues</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the relationship between the dorsal root ganglion and a dermatome?

    <p>A dermatome is the area of skin and deeper tissues innervated by a single dorsal root ganglion</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the destination of the mechanosensory information transmitted by the dorsal columns/medial lemniscal system?

    <p>The cortex via the VPL thalamus</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Somatosensory System

    • The somatosensory system senses the surrounding environment and internal body
    • It is not limited to touch, but includes other sensory modalities

    Physiological Mechanisms of Sensation

    • Transduction: conversion of stimulus energy into electrical signals
    • Transmission: transmission of signals to the brain
    • Perception: interpretation of signals by the brain
    • Modulation: modification of signals by the brain

    Somatosensory Receptors

    • Specialized to transduce particular types of stimulus energy into electrical signals
    • Different receptors have different transduction molecules and respond to different stimuli
    • Examples:
      • Mechanoreceptors (4 types) for touch
      • Proprioceptors for limb position and movement
      • Thermoreceptors for temperature
      • Nociceptors for pain

    Proprioceptors

    • Joint receptors: report on limb position and movement
    • Muscle spindles: regulate motor control of muscle length
    • Golgi Tendon Organs: sense muscle tension

    Thermoreceptors

    • Respond to warm or cold stimuli in the non-noxious range
    • Different populations of neurons signal 'hot' and 'cold'
    • Most cold-sensitive fibers are small myelinated Aδ axons
    • Most warm-sensitive fibers are small unmyelinated C axons

    Nociceptors

    • Respond to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli
    • 4 main modalities: mechanical, thermal, chemical, and polymodal
    • Different transduction molecules respond to different types of stimuli

    Receptor Properties

    • Modality: different receptors respond to different types of stimuli
    • Intensity: encoded by firing frequency and number of receptors activated
    • Duration: encoded by duration of firing and changes in spike trains
    • Location: related to receptive fields

    Somatosensory Axons

    • Different types of axons have different conduction velocities
    • Axons conveying different sensory modalities have different properties

    Information Conveyance

    • Firing rates of sensory neurons convey information on intensity and duration of stimuli
    • Receptive field of a sensory neuron is the spatial domain where stimulation excites or inhibits the neuron

    Somatotopic Maps

    • Map of dermatomes in a typical adult: area of skin and deeper tissues innervated by a single dorsal root ganglion
    • Important for determining location of suspected spinal lesions

    Dorsal Columns/Medial Lemniscal System

    • Conveys mechanosensory information from limbs and trunk to cortex via VPL thalamus
    • Ascends ipsilaterally in spinal cord

    Anterolateral System

    • Conveys itch, temperature, and visceral information to cortex via brain stem and thalamus
    • Crosses midline in spinal cord

    Somatotopic Map Plasticity

    • Use-dependent plasticity: assessment of sensory cortical representation asymmetries in violin players
    • Clinical relevance: map plasticity may underlie pain following nerve injury, and can be exploited for functional recovery

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    Description

    This quiz covers the classification of the senses, transduction of somatosensory signals, types of cutaneous and proprioceptive somatosensory receptors, and attributes of sensory stimuli. It is designed for MBBS1 GBE students.

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